1986 a Marcos leaves in disgrace - 2022, A Marcos becomes a President of the Philippines

[MenInG]

It was in 1986 that the dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family were forced to leave the Philippines in disgrace. Helicopters airlifted the family from the Malacañang Palace, as protesters filled the streets. Marcos Sr, after ruling with an iron fist for 20 years, had been toppled by a popular uprising, the People Power Revolution.

Crowds stormed the abandoned palace, discovering the extent of the family’s opulence. There were grand artworks, boxes of commemorative gold coins, lavish jewellery, hundreds of gowns, dresses, and, infamously, an enormous collection of designer shoes belonging to the former first lady, Imelda Marcos.

Analysts say that, ever since the family was ousted, it has been intent on forging a comeback. In the documentary The Kingmaker, Imelda Marcos described it as her son’s destiny to become the president. Now he is on the cusp of doing so.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr, “known as Bongbong”, was educated in the Philippines and at a boarding school in England. An extract from Marcos Sr’s diary suggests the family was concerned his son lacked the “character” needed for the future. “Bongbong is our principal worry. He is too carefree and lazy,” he writes, adding later: “I have told him that since we have enemies, he will have to fight the battles I fought in the past against myself and against circumstance.”

Marcos Jr began studying politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford, but, according to the university, did not complete a degree course and was awarded a special diploma in social sciences. Marcos insists he graduated with the equivalent of a degree.

After university, Marcos Jr became the vice-governor of his home province, Ilocos Norte, on the north-western tip of Luzon, at the age of 23 and later governor. He was 29 when his father was ousted and the family was forced to leave the Philippines.

Marcos Sr died in exile in 1989. However, the family was allowed to return to the country in the 1990s. Marcos Jr then began to re-establish his political career, again becoming governor in Ilocos Norte, the family’s stronghold, a congressman and a senator. In 2016, he ran for vice-president but lost to Leni Robredo – an outcome he unsuccessfully challenged in court. Robredo lost to him in the 2022 presidential race.

Marcos is married to the lawyer Louise Araneta-Marcos, known as Liza, with whom he has three sons. The eldest, Ferdinand Alexander Marcos III, known as Sandro, is running for the first district congressional seat of Ilocos Norte, and has developed a prominent social media presence where he is received adoringly by young female supporters.

The family continues to face numerous court cases over their plundered wealth, which is estimated to be as high as $10bn. Imelda is appealing against a 2018 criminal conviction on seven corruption charges.

Marcos Jr has been unapologetic about his family’s past and has downplayed or denied abuses under his father’s rule. He praised his father as a “political genius”, and his mother as the dynasty’s “supreme politician” during a recent interview with CNN Philippines.

Under martial law, which was imposed by Marcos in 1972, thousands of Marcos critics were arrested, tortured and killed.

Marcos Jr’s camp, and its supporters, have portrayed the Marcos years as a time when the country was thriving and prosperous. Online misinformation about the era has inundated social media, prompting media groups and academics to form factchecking initiatives.

Marcos Jr’s appeal has relied on nostalgia relating to his father’s rule, say analysts. “He did not inherit the political savvy or the appeal or the charm of the father,” said Prof Maria Ela L Atienza, who teaches political science at the University of the Philippines. “He’s basically living off or campaigning on the basis of the name of the father.”

His campaign, which carried the slogan “together we shall rise again”, promised unity and a return to what he has portrayed to be a former greatness. He has also pledged to prioritise jobs and lower the cost of living, including bringing down the cost of rice, though critics say such proposals are lacking in detail.

His opponents fear the return of the family to power could lead to the reversal of democratic gains made in the country since his father was toppled in 1986.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-bonbong-philippines-president-promises-unity

 

[MenInG]

Seems this sort of fate isnt limited to the Sharifs.

 

[MenInG]

Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the namesake son of an ousted Philippine dictator, declared victory in this week’s presidential elections Wednesday and faced early calls to ensure respect for human rights, the rule of law and democracy.

Marcos Jr. garnered more than 31 million votes in an unofficial vote count from Monday’s polls in what’s projected to be one of the strongest mandates for a Philippine president in decades. His vice-presidential running mate, Sara Duterte, appeared to have also won by a landslide.

Marcos Jr.’s electoral triumph is a victory for democracy and he promised to seek common ground across political divide, his spokesman, Vic Rodriguez, said.

“To the world: Judge me not by my ancestors, but by my actions,” Rodriguez quoted Marcos Jr. as saying.

The separately elected president and vice president will take office on June 30 after the results are confirmed by Congress. With a single, six-year term, they are poised to lead a Southeast Asian nation in a dire need of economic recovery following two years of COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns. They’ll also inherit huge expectations for a way out of crushing poverty, gaping inequalities, ending Muslim and communist insurgencies and political divisions, which were only inflamed by the turbulent presidencies of their fathers.

Marcos Jr.’s key rivals have conceded defeat, including former boxing star Manny Pacquiao. Marcos’ closest challenger, Vice President Leni Robredo, a human rights lawyer who ran on a promise of badly needed reforms, has only acknowledged his massive lead.

“As a boxer and an athlete, I know how to accept defeat,” Pacquiao said in a video message. “But I hope that even if I lost in this fight, my fellow Filipinos who are wallowing in poverty were a winner too.”

The United States, a longtime treaty ally of the Philippines, was among the first foreign governments to issue a comment following the elections. It expressed willingness to work with the next Filipino president after an official proclamation but stressed the relationship should be grounded on respect for human rights and the rule of law.

“We look forward to renewing our special partnership and to working with the next administration on key human rights and regional priorities,” U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

He cited Washington’s long alliance with Manila “that shares democratic values and interests,” and added that the U.S. government would continue “to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law which is fundamental to U.S. relations with the Philippines and in other bilateral contexts.”

Asked if the U.S. has any concern with the apparent victory of Marcos Jr., Price sidestepped the question but said the elections and subsequent vote count followed international standards without any major incident.

The election outcome was an astonishing reversal of the army-backed but largely peaceful “People Power” uprising that ousted Marcos’s father in 1986 — a democratic triumph in an Asian region considered a human rights hotspot where authoritarian regimes flourish.

Marcos Jr. has steadfastly defended his father’s legacy and refused to apologize for the massive human rights violations and plunder under his rule. He visited his father’s grave at the national heroes’ cemetery on Tuesday, laying flowers and, at one point, appearing overcome with emotions.

He and Sarah Duterte, the daughter of outgoing populist leader Rodrigo Duterte, campaigned on a platform of national unity without saying how they would heal the wounds that have festered since their fathers’ presidencies.

The 64-year-old former provincial governor, congressman and senator has kept mom on key political, economic and foreign policy issues, including how he would address calls for the prosecution of President Duterte, who oversaw a bloody anti-drugs campaign that alarmed the international community and sparked an investigation by the International Criminal Court.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch asked Marcos Jr. to take immediate action to improve human rights conditions in the country once he takes office, including by helping the ICC prosecute Duterte, freeing his long-detained critic, Sen. Leila de Lima, and ordering the military and police to stop targeting activists and rights defenders.

More hard-line left-wing groups and survivors of the Marcos dictatorship rejected Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte outright, accusing them of whitewashing their fathers’ legacies on the campaign trail and in social media propaganda.

“Our generation has shown that even the most ruthless tyrant can be defeated by the people’s collective action,” said SELDA, a group of ex-political detainees and human rights victims in the martial-law era under the late dictator. “Now is the time to harness that power again - the power to change the course of history and reject this nefarious pair of traditional politicians.”

https://www.voanews.com/a/marcos-jr-declares-victory-faces-calls-to-ensure-democracy-/6566649.html

 

[MenInG]

Still at it....

--

The glimpse of a possible Picasso in the home of Imelda Marcos seen during a visit by her son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, after his election win has set off a flurry of speculation in the Philippines, where the family that once plundered billions is set to return to power.

Marcos Jr, the son and namesake of the late dictator, won a landslide victory in Monday’s presidential election, an outcome that has appalled those who survived his father’s regime.

Images released by the family showed Marcos Jr visiting the home of his mother, Imelda, who had displayed Picasso’s Femme Couche VI (Reclining Woman VI), or a replica, above the sofa.

It is unclear if the painting, one of eight targeted for seizure by anti-corruption authorities in 2014, is genuine, but the unexpected appearance of the nude in blues and greens reclining on an orange and yellow bed has added to fears the family will use its now-increased power to brazenly further stifle efforts to recover ill-gotten wealth.

Marcos Sr presided over rife human rights abuses during his 20-year rule, including the arrest, torture and killings of his opponent, and used his power to plunder as much as $10bn until he was deposed in 1986. The family squirrelled away the funds in overseas bank accounts and real estate, and splashed out on jewellery, artworks and designer clothes. Imelda, the dynasty’s matriarch, became infamous for her enormous shoe collection – a symbol of the family’s excess and greed.

The family and its backers have since rebranded the Marcos name, with disinformation about Marcos Sr’s rule spread widely online.

Ruben Carranza, a former commissioner for the presidential commission on good government (PCGG), which was set up to investigate and recover ill-gotten wealth, said it was unclear if the painting was a genuine Picasso.

“Mrs Marcos has had a habit of buying fake paintings, as well as lending fake paintings for display,” Carranza said.

But he added: “The fact that she’s now displaying it just shows not just the duplicity of Mrs Marcos – but that she has to display the duplicity and the extravagance that she thinks she’s displaying for Filipinos to see … That says something even worse.”

He added: “It shows this really, absolutely uncaring attitude for Filipinos. They’ve not only now been led to believe that [the Marcoses] have gold. Now, they’re leading them to believe, again, that they have so much wealth that they can just display it whenever they please,” said Carranza.

For years, there has been speculation online that the Marcoses have huge sums of gold, which was given to Marcos Sr by a wealthy family as payment for acting as their lawyer. According to the story, the gold would be shared with the people if the family regained power.

Marcos Jr has either downplayed or denied the abuses that occurred in the Phlippines under his father. As president, he would have the power to appoint the commissioners of the PCGG, granting him huge influence over the body that was set up to recover the family’s wealth.

The PCGG has reportedly retrieved about $5bn, while a further $2.4bn was bogged down in litigation, and more remains missing, according to recent reports.

The Picasso was supposed to have been seized by the government in 2014, but a former commissioner on good government, Andres Bautista, told the Rappler news site co-founded by the Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa that he believed the item was a fake.

“Personally I know that what we seized was a fake. It was a tarpaulin so it’s still with them,” he told the site.

The Marcos family continues to face dozens of court cases over their plundered wealth. Imelda is appealing against a 2018 criminal conviction on seven corruption charges.

Marcos Jr’s spokesperson, Vic Rodriguez, did not respond when asked during a press conference to clarify whether the artwork on display in the Marcos home was genuine.

Guardian